Letter: Cruz is strongest on defense

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) holds a campaign rally ahead of the Kansas caucuses at Yardley Hall on the campus of Johnson County Community College on March 2, in Overland Park, Kansas.(Photo: Kyle Rivas, Getty Images)

As a Grand Rapids native and second generation professional soldier, please let me share why I support Sen. Ted Cruz.

Ted Cruz has released a detailed plan for rebuilding our military that ensures America’s capability to decisively defeat radical Islamist terrorists. It also enhances our forces’ technological superiority to deter or defeat any resurgent military peer. Benchmarks include a fully trained and equipped Army of 525,000; a 350 ship Navy; and an Air Force with 6,000 aircraft, including 1,500 tactical fighters.

Cruz is the only candidate to endorse the nonpartisan Center for Military Readiness survey affirming that he places sound defense priorities over social engineering within our Armed Forces.

Other candidates can’t seem to embrace this, even though it is already in the Republican Party Platform.

All we know about Mr. Trump’s plans are his vague promises. We can however, compare the tangible records of Sens. Cruz and Rubio. Recently, Cruz and other Senate leaders introduced legislation banning the entry of improperly-vetted refugees from terrorist-infested regions.

Rubio supported giving the president unilateral authority to admit more. This is consistent with Rubio’s past judgment in supporting the disastrous Obama policy in Libya that produced an unstable successor regime where terrorist jihadist elements flourish, and that culminated in Benghazi.

Cruz has always supported funding levels in appropriations acts ensuring our forces have the resources to accomplish their missions. He has, however, voted against thousand-plus page authorization acts because of objectionable provisions they contained, sometimes of dubious constitutionality.

Notably, Cruz voted against the authorization act that drastically overhauled military retirement which will harm future combat readiness. Cruz recognizes the men and women who selflessly serve as our most vital military assets.